


Midsummer's Night Dream

by unjaundiced



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Americana, First Kiss, M/M, Midwest, Pre-Relationship, Slice of Life, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-06 11:14:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5414714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unjaundiced/pseuds/unjaundiced
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summers were relatively carefree when you were a country boy. Kakashi has a dream he never thought he'd dream. Then wakes to a reality worse than any nightmare.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Midsummer's Night Dream

Summers in Wisconsin were brutal; midsummers in Wisconsin were worse. The days seemed to stretch from shimmering heat wave to shimmering heat wave like so much translucent saltwater taffy—not as sweet but just as thick and sticky. July seemed to crawl towards August like a desert tortoise; meandering across the vast wash of repetitive scenery with no real intent of going anywhere except ever onwards. The end of the month seemed to be a mirage; far and cruel in the distance.  

Midsummers in Wisconsin were terrible but made worse when one was stuck in a stuffy barn with one's rear end glued to a hard stool, up to boot ankle in musty straw that just  _had_  to have some seriously nasty stuff buried under it somewhere, and in clothes that stuck to one's back like the sweaty feet of a thousand mice who'd just run through said nasty musty straw. Not to mention where one's  _hands_  would be when in this situation: wrapped around the fuzzy teats of a large ruminary creature; squeezing baby food out from its underside while the baby said food was intended for stared at you with large accusing eyes.    
   
The curly-haired blonde calf wailed and stumbled forward, neck cording and straining against the rope that secured him firmly away from the milking area, strikingly blue eyes watery and unfocused. The bright red-and-white Holstein lowed in response and stepped back, nearly squashing Kakashi's toe under a large hoof. He swore and stumbled back, yanking the half-filled pail out of the danger zone and nearly tripping over the upset stool in the process. Kushina rolled a large cow-eye at him and snorted. Her calf's wails seemed to warble into snickers and Kakashi glared at the young bull through a fall of shaggy hair.    
   
“Keep it up, veal,” he growled irritably. The calf froze and stared at him with huge eyes that made him feel incredibly and disgustingly  _guilty_. He averted his gaze and snorted before mumbling a grudging, “sorry” that made the calf  _yowl_  at him like an angry cat.    
   
“Dammit, I said sorry already, geez,” Kakashi groused as he stalked the bawling calf with the intent to free it, milk pail banging against his knee in reflection of his agitation.    
   
Kushina calmly watched the scene with mild interest, more intent on chewing her cud than the strangled cries her calf made as he did his best to brain the silver-haired human with his rear hooves. Kakashi's hand closed around Naruto's tail and he grinned in triumph. Naruto's eyes met his mother's in a moment of silent communication and she paused mid-chew, seemed to choke out a startled sound and stumbled back. A split second later and a loud high-pitched wheezing sound punched through the quiet gloom of the barn and Kakashi had a whole new reason to swear as Naruto let loose a prime example of bovine-generated greenhouse gases right in his face.  
  
Kakashi grunted quietly as he carefully set the milk pail on the porch, shooing off the pack of greedy dogs that crowded him hoping for a taste of the rich cream. A small dark paw set itself on the rim of the pail and Kakashi's eyes met the solemn stare of the stubby-legged pug formerly known as Pakkun. Henceforth, his name would be Pig because all he ever did was try to claim any food or food-like items Kakashi had.    
  
“Go away, Pig,” Kakashi mumbled, patience exhausted on Naruto. Pakkun stared back, large eyes focusing on his face like eerie marbles glowing in the twilight.    
  
“Goddamn. What is with all the  _staring_ ,” Kakashi grumbled as he dragged a hand down his face. Pakkun seemed to stare harder and Kakashi could almost swear he could  _feel_  those doggy eyes on him. In fact, he could feel a whole lot of doggy eyes on his face. He peeked between the cracks of his fingers and stumbled back as he came face-to-many-begging-faces with the dogs.  
   
“I said no,” he reiterated firmly. He was the human here and he would show them all who was master. He narrowed his eyes as the dogs began to huddle together to form a furry wall of sheer intent. He wasn't going to lose to a bunch of mutts.    
  
Kakashi stalked barefoot into the house five minutes later, irritable and brandishing an empty milk pail. His once-white wifebeater clung wetly to his back and gingerly to his front, adding definition to his slim frame. Dark spots of damp stained his baggy frayed jeans at the knees; badges of honor from his war of the milk pail. He passed his aunt without so much as a hello and grumpily made way towards the kitchen.    
  
Tsunade didn't take offense. She just raised a well-groomed eyebrow at the lanky teen and smirked to herself before wandering off to tell her uncle that, no Kakashi still hadn't managed to get the milk from barn to kitchen. Hiruzen: zero. Tsunade: fifteen. She was getting to drink again tonight!    
   
Kushina was heating a pot of soup on the stove when Kakashi dropped the bucket, startling her. She flung a ladle at him in reflex and he rolled his eyes as he caught it with ease. She huffed as he tossed it back with careless grace before turning on the faucet and dunking his head beneath it to drown out what would most likely be an annoying tirade from his cousin. The brat was probably busy whining about where the milk was for her baby—obnoxiously named after the bratty calf in the barn. Or was it the other way around? Kakashi couldn't be bothered to remember the details.    
  
A slight weight rammed into his leg and he paused, blinking the water out of his eyes as he peered through wet bangs at the bright blue eyes staring up at him. Yep, the other way around. Strange how that calf and this kid acted so similar, he thought as he absently shut off the spout. A gap-toothed grin broke his reverie at the same moment a strident voice shattered the last of Kakashi's peace.    
   
“You're all wet, Uncle,” Naruto screeched, pointing and laughing with all the obnoxious cruelty of a seven-year-old.    
   
“You are too,” Kakashi mumbled blandly, shaking his head like a dog and spraying the boy in the process. Naruto shrieked and released him, scurrying away from the water, laughing all the while.    
   
“Kakashi,” Kushina yelped, slapping at him with a dish towel.    
   
“Seriously, what the—" Kakashi grumbled as he backed defensively out of the kitchen.    
   
“Kakashi,” came a gravelly voice from behind him. He jumped and spun around, eyes darting about with suspicion. An sandy-haired man with a weatherworn face eyed him with amusement, a pinewood pipe pressed between his lips.    
   
“Old man,” Kakashi acknowledged. Hiruzen's lips twitched with amusement at that.    
   
“Don't call him 'old man', you brat,” Kushina shrieked from behind him as she flung another towel at his head. Kakashi ducked without thinking and the towel smacked wetly across Hiruzen's face. Kushina paled and stammered out a pathetic: “ _Uncle_ ”.    
   
Hiruzen didn't reply for a moment. He stood in place puffing thoughtfully on his pipe, wet dish towel still plastered across his face. He calmly pulled the damp cloth away and shook it slightly before sighing around his pipe. His faded grey eyes met Kakashi's for a brief and intense moment as he seemed to try to communicate something to him before they slid shut.    
   
“There's a stray in the east cornfield,” Hiruzen mumbled quietly around the stem of his pipe. He paused to take it from his mouth and inspected it for a moment. “Kakashi, please take care of the matter,” he continued, eyes never leaving his pipe.    
   
Kakashi nodded thoughtfully as he edged around his elder relative and headed back towards the front door. His aunt leaned against the doorjamb, unusually classy in a silky green shirtwaister, a suspiciously crafty look on her youthful face. Kakashi slanted her a wary glance as he passed her, freezing with irritation as she stepped in front of him. She stared at him with a penetrating stare for a moment before her lips split in a wide grin made all the more feral by the bright red lipstick that painted them.    
   
“Don't get bitten,” Tsunade purred as she stepped away, patting at his pockets as she pushed him out the door. Kakashi stumbled out none too smoothly as he tried to evade her touch, nearly taking himself out on the large dog slumbering in front of the door. “I'm not a vet,” she called after him. “I don't treat rabies!”    
   
“Dammit, Bull,” Kakashi grumbled, double-tripping before catching himself on one of the patio posts. Had he always been this clumsy? Being a teenager sucked.    
  
“And what the hell was that all about,” he mumbled to himself as he thought back on the strange stares of his aunt and great-uncle. An insect buzzed in front of his face, nearly touching his nose, and he flinched in reflex. A series of heavy buzzing drones caught his attention and flickering green-yellow glows darted up from the grass. “Lightning bugs?”    
   
Midsummers in Wisconsin were terrible save for the fact that the crops were all in the ground and mostly grown, and if you didn't mind the mosquitoes or were somehow immune, you would be treated to a free firefly show every night. The bugs with the glowing butts almost made up for all the rest of Wisconsin's hateful weather. Almost.    
   
Kakashi sighed heavily into the encroaching evening. The last vestiges of day streaked away into a strange ashy grey and tinted themselves at the edges with a clear dark blue. A full moon was rising to banish true night as a dream for another time. A moth fluttered against his mouth and he sputtered in disgust, firmly deciding to keep his mouth shut from here on out.    
  
A soft grunting had him casting a glance at the dozing heap of dogs strewn across the patio. The dogs were splayed out across the cool wooden slats and were happily snoring, bellies full of stolen milk. The worst of the dogs were using a pair of dusty boots as head rests, forelegs flung possessively across the ankles. Kakashi narrowed his eyes.  _His boots._  
   
Shiba—the worst of them all—slid open a sleepy eye and seemed to grin at him before snuggling pointedly into a leathery boot crease and going back to sleep. Kakashi snorted at that before sighing. He wriggled his toes against the cool weatherworn edges that made out the edge of the porch before hopping to the ground.    
  
Instantly, crumbly dirt puffed up between his toes, rich loamy soil giving way to warm earth as he stepped forward. The soft cool grass edging the footpath tickled his soles and made him smile and dig in his toes a little more with each step. Grasshoppers played night music in the tall grasses that ringed the apple trees. A swirl of fireflies danced up over the shadowy stalks of young corn and he was reminded of why he'd come outside.     
  
A stray in the east cornfield? How odd. He hadn't even thought to ask what kind of stray the old man had spoken of. Although... There was one stray that had a tendency to visit quite often these days. He should just bring it home so it stopped wandering the fields at night.

Kakashi casually turned towards the east and sunk his hands into his pocket, blinking in surprise as his fingers touched upon a flat packet. What on earth?    
  
He pulled the mysterious packet from his pocket and squinted at it under the sallow moonlight, rolling his eyes when he realised what it was and shoved it back in. There was no figuring out his nutty aunt and he wasn't about to drive himself crazy trying.    
  
The young cornstalks soared around Kakashi as he made his way down the dirt road to the east field; the youngest field. Ears wouldn't make their appearances for a few weeks yet, so until then, the fields were vast seas of dense grass-like stalks that were good for getting lost in or for terrifying young children in the dark. Either way worked out for Kakashi who liked to be solitary and tended to edge clearings into the centers of the cornfields where he could nap in peace away from annoyances such as the noisy Maito family who lived on the next property over. It was during one such excursion that he had first met the stray.   
  
A soft rustling absent the wind made him freeze. Speaking of his stray...    
  
Another teasing rustle had him gently lifting his chin so he could take in the scent of his surroundings. Damp woody soil rushed in to overtake his senses, chased by the musty green smell of freshly cut grass. The crisp smell of the night air pushed down on the warm humid air swirling in and amongst the cornstalks. And there, on the edge of the wind was a scent that wasn't quite as earthy and not quite as grassy. Kakashi smiled to himself and continued on as if he was still clueless, casually melting into the shadows of the cornstalks as he went.    
  
A dark head popped out of the wall of cornstalks and a silent curse could almost be heard before the figure disappeared again. Stifling a telltale grin, Kakashi slunk after the shadow with all the silence of a well-trained ninja.  _Bingo_.     
  
He closed in on the spot he knew the stray would stop, hovering on the fringes of the best clearing in the field to watch the summer moon from. His fingers tingled in anticipation, his mind whirled with thoughts of how he'd deal with the stray, his muscles coiled with undecided intent. He trembled with restraint, forcing himself not to race into the open like a callow youth, nevermind that he was one.    
  
Kakashi craned his neck curiously as he carefully stilled himself, his slender frame blending in surprisingly well with the cornstalks, even with his light complexion. The clearing area was empty. Unusual. But his senses were still on high alert and he could  _feel_  his prey somewhere around him. His eyes darted from shadow to shadow, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling in warning.     
  
_Behind!_  
  
Turning a moment too slowly, Kakashi could only brace himself against the force of a body hurling itself at him. His arms closed reflexively around slim shoulders as they went flying, at the same time curling his shoulders inwards to better absorb the impact of his back meeting the dirt. They tumbled ass over end once, twice, then Kakashi found himself staring at the full moon ringed by stars. He frowned.    
  
"Gotcha!” A dark face loomed overhead, a huge smile framed by impishly squinted eyes and a long dark ponytail staring down.    
  
“You look like a girl like that,” Kakashi grumbled, ignoring the strange tingly warmth that welled up in his belly at the close contact.  
   
The boy pouted. “You're just jealous because I pinned you this time,” he grumbled, firmly straddling Kakashi's stomach and pinning his wrists to the ground as emphasis.    
   
“It was a one time thing,” Kakashi muttered to the sky. “It was a gimme. Next time you won't be so lucky.”    
   
“Whatever. It's still a win,” the boy groused.    
   
“Tell me, Iruka,” Kakashi mumbled thoughtfully. Iruka looked back curiously. Kakashi shifted his gaze to the younger teen's face.    
   
“Why do you come here every night? Where are your parents?”    
   
Iruka's expression grew shuttered. Kakashi's eyes narrowed.    
   
“And why the hell are your pants so big? Are those  _mine!_ ”    
   
Iruka yelped as the older teen suddenly surged upwards and flipped him on the ground, pinning him in return. His baggy jeans—far too large for his waist—rode up towards his ribcage, the folded-over waist unfolding as he wriggled around. The shoulder straps of his baggy wifebeater pooled at his neck making him look small.    
   
“How did you know!” He yelped guiltily as Kakashi launched a devastating tickle attack on his sensitive ribs.    
   
“How could I  _not_  know when I'm missing clothes off the line, you brat,” Kakashi grumbled, fingers seeking out every ticklish spot he could touch. “Gimme,” he ordered, pulling his shirt from the gangly youth.    
   
“Aaaah! Forgive me!” Iruka wailed, arching away from the relentless fingers, clutching helplessly at Kakashi's arms in a feeble attempt to interrupt the attack.    
   
“Never,” Kakashi growled playfully, digging his fingers into a particularly sensitive spot that had Iruka squealing and bucking as he tried to get away.  
   
“Argh, dammit, Iruka,” Kakashi swore, straddling the other teen's waist to pin him down when he started kicking reflexively. “That was a close one!”    
   
Iruka giggled helplessly, wriggling from phantom touches though Kakashi had stopped tickling him. He paused for a moment, looked at Kakashi and dissolved into helpless giggles again, clutching his stomach and wriggling around as he tried to shake the imaginary tickling.    
   
“I can't,” he gasped out between giggles. Kakashi rolled his eyes, then froze as Iruka bucked his hips rather hard and sent him sliding back, lightning sizzling down his spine and pooling in his belly at the motion. Suddenly he was all-too aware of the fact that he was straddling the other teen and that he could see every tight muscle that corded in Iruka's stomach as he arched towards freedom. In what seemed like slow motion, he could see the shift in Iruka's body from play to thinly-suppressed curious tension, muscles trembling under his skin. The ragged breaths the other teen took made his chest heave, briefly defining the gentle swells of his ribcage in the blue-white moonlight before shadowing them again. His eyes trailed slowly northward until they met lips parted and panting slightly. He licked his lips unconsciously and the lips before him seemed to freeze, then stutter with an unsteady breath. Kakashi's wandered up over flaring nostrils to startled eyes; wide, curious, and  _anticipating_. He froze.    
   
“Ah, shit,” Kakashi ground out, rolling back on his heels and putting as much distance as he could between them, dragging a hand roughly through his hair in agitation. He scrubbed at the back of his head in frustration and let out a ragged sigh.    
   
“Hey, man. Iruka. I'm sorry,” he mumbled, turning slightly. He was the older one—almost a man now—and he had to take responsibility for fucking things up like he tended to do. “I don't know what came over—"  
   
He grunted as, for the second time that night, a gangly body pile-drove into him. Again, he let the momentum take him to the ground. He was willing to take any punches Iruka would throw. He deserved it.    
   
“Shut up, goddammit,” Iruka growled. Kakashi pressed his lips together, biting back everything he wanted to say.    
   
“You,” Iruka started, shaking his head and causing his hair to kick free of its confinement. “You are a first class, all-fired  _idiot_. Do you know that?”    
   
Kakashi wanted to protest that he wasn't an idiot all of the time, only just recently—more specifically, ever since he'd first met Iruka in his favorite secret spot a few months prior—But he wasn't really able to do that because suddenly... _suddenly_  Iruka— _his stray_ —had his mouth on Kakashi's and he was shocked; stunned. Elated.    
   
It was and it wasn't good. Iruka was clumsy and he himself was inexperienced and overeager and their teeth knocked together once, sending shocks shooting up through his skull. Iruka tasted a little dusty and Kakashi tasted salt, wondering briefly if he'd cut his lip somehow. And then...    
   
And  _then_... everything seemed to fit together and they weren't trying to figure out how their noses fit into things or what to do with their hands. Suddenly their lips seemed to just  _know_  what was perfect and Kakashi felt a quick silky slide against his lip that made him groan. He chased it and felt Iruka's mouth open hungrily, felt the hot slide of another tongue against his and moaned as fingers burrowed into his hair. He dragged a callous-fingered hand down Iruka's surprisingly strong back and tangled his other in his stray's long hair.     
  
The buzzing of the fireflies grew into an oppressive drone and started to get a little distracting, but he soldiered on and tried to ignore the noise. Then they seemed to explode into shimmering lights and there were fireworks in the distance imploding all his senses.    
   
There was a strange popping that went from obnoxious to wholly irritating and suddenly the fireflies were on  _fire_. The sound of horses screaming tore through the quiet of the night and the moon exploded overhead like a giant firework.    
   
_Kakashi came to abruptly, instinctively awake in an instant. For a moment there was a brief and dangerous disconnect as his mind raced to play catch-up; frantically assimilating the explosions screaming through the air and sucking oxygen with them. His body was way ahead of him, legs already swinging down from the cot and arms pushing their way into his standard issue flack jacket._  
  
_Within seconds, he was bursting out of the tent and into the hot, wet jungle night. Obito came running from his left, stumbling clumsily on a bit of log as he shouted over the rat-a-tat-tat of strafe fire lighting the gloom and tearing apart the palm treess that fenced the cloudy sky. Kakashi shook his head, unable to hear the message and they both hit the dirt as a Chinook dropped its payload of napalm on the forest ahead of them. A hellish glow rippled towards them, pushing a relentless shock wave of sheer_ heat _ahead of it._  
  
_He had a spare thought, but pushed it away before it fully formed. The ghost of the thought echoed through his psyche as he tapped into his comm-link, barking out orders as he hauled his subordinate away._ What the hell was that all about?

  

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted in Memorial Day 2011. Memorial Day in the United States of America is observed on the last Monday in May and remembers all those fallen in battle, civilian and warrior alike, and pushes towards a goal of peace. 
> 
> Written in response to beasiesgal's kakairu_fest contribution, [night version](http://kakairu.livejournal.com/2794895.html), and also as an excerpt from a future fic inspired by the [day version](http://pics.livejournal.com/beasiesgal/pic/000d0z61).
> 
> Some day I hope to have the whole universe fully fleshed out.
> 
> *Sorry to anyone/everyone living in or from Wisconsin. No offense. I just needed an American Midwest state.


End file.
